PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A Bretscher

Publications and source records attributed to A Bretscher.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Soluble ezrin purified from placenta exists as stable monomers and elongated dimers with masked C-terminal ezrin-radixin-moesin association domains.

Previous work has indicated that ezrin, a membrane-microfilament linking protein, exists largely as a monomeric protein in solution. Here we purify from human placenta two cytosolic ezrin species that chromatography differently on gel filtration, anion, and cation exchange resins. Both species contain only the ezrin polypeptide, yet they do not readily interconvert in vitro as determined by gel filtration analysis. Determination of the physical properties of the two species indicates that one represents the conventional monomer, whereas the other represents highly asymmetric dimers. Chemical cross-linking data support this conclusion. Purified ezrin monomers normally have a masked C-terminal domain (termed a C-ERMAD) that, upon exposure, can associate with an N-terminal domain (termed N-ERMAD) of another ezrin molecule. Here we show that purified ezrin dimers also have masked C-ERMADs. On the basis of these results, we suggest a working model for the molecular organization of ezrin monomers and dimers and propose a hypothesis that explains the stable coexistence of ezrin monomers and dimers in placenta. Since radixin and moesin, the two other members of the closely related ERM protein family, both contain N- and C-ERMADs, the results we have documented and models proposed for ezrin are likely to apply to radixin and moesin as well.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1995

Tropomyosin is essential in yeast, yet the TPM1 and TPM2 products perform distinct functions.

Sequence analysis of chromosome IX of Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed an open reading frame of 166 residues, designated TPM2, having 64.5% sequence identity to TPM1, that encodes the major form of tropomyosin in yeast. Purification and characterization of Tpm2p revealed a protein with the characteristics of a bona fide tropomyosin; it is present in vivo at about one sixth the abundance of Tpm1p. Biochemical and sequence analysis indicates that Tpm2p spans four actin monomers along a filament, whereas Tpmlp spans five. Despite its shorter length, Tpm2p can compete with Tpm1p for binding to F-actin. Over-expression of Tpm2p in vivo alters the axial budding of haploids to a bipolar pattern, and this can be partially suppressed by co-over-expression of Tpm1p. This suggests distinct functions for the two tropomyosins, and indicates that the ratio between them is important for correct morphogenesis. Loss of Tpm2p has no detectable phenotype in otherwise wild type cells, but is lethal in combination with tpm1 delta. Over-expression of Tpm2p does not suppress the growth or cell surface targeting defects associated with tpm1 delta, so the two tropomyosins must perform an essential function, yet are not functionally interchangeable. S. cerevisiae therefore provides a simple system for the study of two tropomyosins having distinct yet overlapping functions.

Actins↗
PubMed1995

Parallel secretory pathways to the cell surface in yeast.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants that have a post-Golgi block in the exocytic pathway accumulate 100-nm vesicles carrying secretory enzymes as well as plasma membrane and cell-wall components. We have separated the vesicle markers into two groups by equilibrium isodensity centrifugation. The major population of vesicles contains Bg12p, an endoglucanase destined to be a cell-wall component, as well as Pma1p, the major plasma membrane ATPase. In addition, Snc1p, a synaptobrevin homologue, copurifies with these vesicles. Another vesicle population contains the periplasmic enzymes invertase and acid phosphatase. Both vesicle populations also contain exoglucanase activity; the major exoglucanase normally secreted from the cell, encoded by EXG1, is carried in the population containing periplasmic enzymes. Electron microscopy shows that both vesicle groups have an average diameter of 100 nm. The late secretory mutants sec1, sec4, and sec6 accumulate both vesicle populations, while neither is detected in wild-type cells, early sec mutants, or a sec13 sec6 double mutant. Moreover, a block in endocytosis does not prevent the accumulation of either vesicle species in an end4 sec6 double mutant, further indicating that both populations are of exocytic origin. The accumulation of two populations of late secretory vesicles indicates the existence of two parallel routes from the Golgi to the plasma membrane.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1995

Ezrin oligomers are major cytoskeletal components of placental microvilli: a proposal for their involvement in cortical morphogenesis.

Ezrin is a component of the microvillus cytoskeleton of a variety of polarized epithelial cells and is believed to function as a membrane-cytoskeletal linker. In this study, we isolated microvilli from human placental syncytiotrophoblast as a model system for biochemical analysis of ezrin function. In contrast to intestinal microvilli, ezrin is a major protein component of placental microvilli, comprising approximately 5% of the total protein mass and present at about one quarter of the molar abundance of actin. Gel filtration and chemical cross-linking studies demonstrated that ezrin exists mainly in the form of noncovalent dimers and higher order oligomers in extracts of placental microvilli. A novel form of ezrin, apparently representing covalently cross-linked adducts, was present as a relatively minor constituent of placental microvilli. Both oligomers and adducts remained associated with the detergent-insoluble cytoskeleton, indicating a tight interaction with actin filaments. Moreover, stimulation of human A431 carcinoma cells with EGF induces the rapid formation of ezrin oligomers in vivo, thus identifying a signal transduction pathway involving ezrin oligomerization coincident with microvillus assembly. In addition to time course studies, experiments with tyrosine kinase and tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors revealed a correlation between the phosphorylation of ezrin on tyrosine and the onset of oligomer formation, consistent with the possibility that phosphorylation of ezrin might be required for the generation of stable oligomers. Based on these observations, a model for the assembly of cell surface structures is proposed.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The rho-GAP encoded by BEM2 regulates cytoskeletal structure in budding yeast.

Microfilaments are required for polarized growth and morphogenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To accomplish this, actin cables and patches are redistributed during the cell cycle to direct secretory components to appropriate sites for cell growth. A major component of actin cables is tropomyosin I, encoded by TPM1, that determines or stabilizes these structures. Disruption of TPM1 is not lethal but results in the loss of actin cables and confers a partial defect in polarized secretion. Using a synthetic lethal screen, we have identified seven mutations residing in six genes whose products are required in the absence of Tpm1p. Each mutant exhibited a morphological defect, suggesting a functional link to the actin cytoskeleton. Complementation cloning of one mutation revealed that it lies in BEM2, which encodes a GTPase-activating protein for the RHO1 product. bem2 mutations also show synthetic lethality with rho1 and mutations in certain other cytoskeletal genes (ACT1, MYO1, MYO2, and SAC6) but not with mutations in several noncytoskeletal genes. These data therefore provide a genetic link between the GAP encoded by BEM2 and the functional organization of microfilaments. In addition, we show that bem2 mutations confer benomyl sensitivity and have abnormal microtubule arrays, suggesting that the BEM2 product may also be involved directly or indirectly in regulating microtubule function.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗
PubMed1995

Ezrin self-association involves binding of an N-terminal domain to a normally masked C-terminal domain that includes the F-actin binding site.

Ezrin is a membrane-cytoskeletal linking protein that is concentrated in actin-rich surface structures. It is closely related to the microvillar proteins radixin and moesin and to the tumor suppressor merlin/schwannomin. Cell extracts contain ezrin dimers and ezrin-moesin heterodimers in addition to monomers. Truncated ezrin fusion proteins were assayed by blot overlay to determine which regions mediate self-association. Here we report that ezrin self-association occurs by head-to-tail joining of distinct N-terminal and C-terminal domains. It is likely that these domains, termed N- and C-ERMADs (ezrin-radixin-moesin association domain), are responsible for homotypic and heterotypic associations among ERM family members. The N-ERMAD of ezrin resided within amino acids 1-296; deletion of 10 additional residues resulted in loss of activity. The C-ERMAD was mapped to the last 107 amino acids of ezrin, residues 479-585. The two residues at the C-terminus were required for activity, and the region from 530-585 was insufficient. The C-ERMAD was masked in the native monomer. Exposure of this domain required unfolding ezrin with sodium dodecyl sulfate or expressing the domain as part of a truncated protein. Intermolecular association could not occur unless the C-ERMAD had been made accessible to its N-terminal partner. It can be inferred that dimerization in vivo requires an activation step that exposes this masked domain. The conformationally inaccessible C-terminal region included the F-actin binding site, suggesting that this activity is likewise regulated by masking.

Actins↗
PubMed1994

Brush border myosin-I microinjected into cultured cells is targeted to actin-containing surface structures.

The isolated intestinal microvillus cytoskeleton (core) consists of four major proteins: actin, villin, fimbrin and brush border myosin-I. These proteins can assemble in vitro into structures resembling native microvillus cores. Of these components, villin and brush border myosin-I show tissue-specific expression, so they may be involved in the morphogenesis of intestinal microvilli. When introduced into cultured cells that normally lack the protein, villin induces a reorganization of the actin filaments to generate large surface microvilli. Here we examine the consequences of microinjecting brush border myosin-I either alone or together with villin into cultured fibroblasts. Injection of brush border myosin-I has no discernible effect on the overall morphology of the cells, but does become localized to either normal or villin-induced microvilli and other surface structures containing an actin cytoskeleton. Since some endogenous myosin-Is have been found associated with cytoplasmic vesicles, these results show that brush border myosin-I has a domain that specifically targets it to the plasma membrane in both intestinal and cultured cell systems. Ultrastructural examination of microvilli on control cultured cells revealed that they contain a far more highly ordered bundle of microfilaments than had been previously appreciated. The actin filaments in microvilli of villin-injected cells appeared to be more tightly cross-linked when examined by thin-section electron microscopy. In intestinal microvilli, the core bundle is separated from the plasma membrane by about 30 nm due to the presence of brush border myosin-I.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1993

Heterotypic and homotypic associations between ezrin and moesin, two putative membrane-cytoskeletal linking proteins.

Ezrin and moesin are components of actin-rich cell surface structures that are thought to function as membrane-cytoskeletal linking proteins. Here we show that a stable complex of ezrin and moesin can be isolated from cultured cells by immunoprecipitation with specific antibodies. The capacity of these two proteins to interact directly was confirmed with a blot-overlay procedure in which biotin-tagged proteins in solution were incubated with immobilized binding partners. In addition to the heterotypic association of ezrin and moesin, homotypic binding of ezrin to ezrin and of moesin to moesin was also demonstrated in vitro. These results suggest mechanisms by which ezrin and moesin might participate in dynamic aspects of cortical cytoskeletal structure.

Cytoskeletal Proteins↗
PubMed1993

Microfilaments and membranes.

Microfilaments are intimately involved in many plasma and internal membrane functions. Recent studies of microfilament-membrane linking proteins and non-filamentous myosins implicate microfilaments in diverse functions, including transmembrane signaling and vesicular transport. Evidence from animal and yeast cells suggests that microfilaments are regulated by protein phosphosphorylation, small GTP-binding proteins and associations involving SH3 domains.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗
PubMed1993

Moesin, like ezrin, colocalizes with actin in the cortical cytoskeleton in cultured cells, but its expression is more variable.

The band 4.1 superfamily of proteins show approx. 30% sequence identity in their amino-terminal region to the membrane binding domain of erythrocyte band 4.1. Within this superfamily are three members, ezrin, radixin and moesin, that show approx. 75% overall sequence identity. A comparison of the domain structure and intracellular localization of ezrin and moesin in cultured cells is reported here. Limited proteolytic digestion of ezrin or moesin yields a relatively stable 32 kDa domain derived from the amino-terminal region that is homologous to the protease-resistant membrane binding domain of erythrocyte band 4.1. The remaining regions of the two proteins give rise to very different fragments, suggesting that the secondary/tertiary structures of the two proteins are different in these regions. We have generated polyclonal antibodies that discriminate between ezrin and moesin, and do not react with radixin. All cultured cell lines investigated contain ezrin, whereas moesin is variably expressed. Cells that contain both ezrin and moesin show a very similar pattern: both proteins are enriched and colocalize with actin in cell surface structures. Ezrin is also detected in the cytoplasm. In cells with few or no surface structures, both proteins show a patchy distribution in regions of the cell that contain fine networks of actin filaments. No staining of focal contacts or adherens junctions was observed. These results, together with those of others, lead to the conclusion that, of the members of this protein family, only radixin is an authentic component of adherens junctions and focal contacts. Ezrin and moesin are both found in cell surface structures after treatment of human A431 cells with epidermal growth factor, and ezrin, but not moesin, becomes phosphorylated on tyrosine. This study shows that ezrin and moesin have a similar subcellular distribution in cultured cells, yet are distinguishable in their expression, structure and ability to serve as a kinase substrate.

Actins↗
PubMed1993

Ezrin is concentrated in the apical microvilli of a wide variety of epithelial cells whereas moesin is found primarily in endothelial cells.

Ezrin and moesin are two cytoskeletal proteins originally purified from human placenta that are 74% identical in overall protein sequence. They are believed to be membrane-cytoskeletal linking proteins because they share sequence homology with erythrocyte band 4.1 and colocalize with actin specifically in microvilli and membrane ruffles in cultured cells. To determine if ezrin and moesin share similar distributions in vivo, we studied their localizations with respect to F-actin in tissue sections. Surprisingly, ezrin and moesin exhibited very different cellular distributions. Ezrin was highly concentrated and colocalized with actin on the apical surface of many epithelial cell types. During enterocyte differentiation, the pattern of expression and redistribution of ezrin was consistent with it performing a role in microvillus assembly. Immunoelectron microscopy in differentiated cells revealed that ezrin was restricted mainly to the plasma membrane of microvilli and other actin-rich surface projections. Moesin was found in endothelial cells and was also enriched in the apical microvilli of a restricted set of epithelial cells. All polarized cell types with abundant microvilli contained one or both proteins, suggesting that ezrin and moesin perform related functions. However, the differential expression of ezrin and moesin indicates that they have distinct properties, which are uniquely adapted to specific cell types.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Identification of ezrin as an 81-kDa tyrosine-phosphorylated protein in T cells.

We have used APT affinity purification to isolate tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins from MRL lpr/lpr (lpr) mouse T cells. One such protein is pp81 ezrin, previously identified as a tyrosine-phosphorylated protein in epidermal growth factor-stimulated A431 carcinoma cells. Biochemical analyses in A431 and gastric parietal cells have revealed ezrin to be a cytoskeleton-associated cytosolic protein. In Jurkat T cells, however, using similar methods we have shown ezrin to be a cytosolic protein with no measurable cytoskeletal association. We also observed no increases in ezrin tyrosine phosphorylation in TCR-stimulated Jurkat T cells, unless the cells were pretreated with protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors, suggesting that T cell ezrin tyrosine phosphorylation is tightly controlled by protein tyrosine phosphatases. The fraction of tyrosine phosphorylated ezrin in lpr T cells was 5 to 10 times that observed in Jurkat T cells, which along with constitutive TCR-zeta phosphorylation and pp60fyn overexpression, is a feature of the lpr defect.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Yeast actin is relatively well behaved.

Actin from yeast has been reported previously to have unusual polymerization properties. Here we report a simple sensitive spot assay for actin and use it to develop a high-yield procedure for the purification of actin from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The polymerization properties of purified yeast actin are quantitatively similar to all other characterized actins. We have characterized this actin with respect to its ability to interact with yeast profilin and tropomyosin, the only yeast actin-binding proteins so far purified and characterized. Yeast profilin can sequester yeast actin monomers and thereby reduce the ability of yeast actin to polymerize, whereas it has little effect on the degree of polymerization of rabbit skeletal muscle actin. By contrast, there is no apparent difference between the binding of yeast or smooth muscle tropomyosin to yeast or rabbit skeletal muscle actin. The availability of purified yeast actin should facilitate a detailed examination of its interaction with recently discovered yeast actin-binding proteins. Greer and Schekman (1982) [Greer, C. & Schekman, R. (1982), Mol. Cell Biol. 2, 1279-1286] reported that an intrinsic property of yeast actin is a Ca2+ dependent increase in critical concentration with the formation of 15-50-nm particles. Our purified actin does not have this property. By modifying the purification protocol, we can obtain a preparation having a Ca(2+)-dependent change in polymerization properties. The Ca(2+)-dependent effect results in a slower polymerization rate as well as the formation of shorter filaments. Since this effect could be mediated by a protein present at a very low stoichiometry to actin, and we do not see any contaminating peptides, we have not pursued this effect further. We suggest that the Ca(2+)-dependent properties of the Greer and Schekman preparation are most likely due to a minor contaminant.

Actins↗
PubMed1992

Identification and molecular characterization of the calmodulin-binding subunit gene (CMP1) of protein phosphatase 2B from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. An alpha-factor inducible gene.

A method has been developed for the rapid purification of yeast calmodulin in high yield. Using a 125I-labeled calmodulin SDS/PAGE gel overlay procedure with either yeast or bovine calmodulin, we show that the bovine and yeast proteins recognize the same proteins in total yeast extracts. However, yeast calmodulin does not bind to many of the proteins in vertebrate cells identified using bovine calmodulin. A lambda gt11 yeast genomic expression library was screened with yeast or bovine brain 125I-calmodulin to identify sequences derived from calmodulin binding proteins. Twelve clones were recovered, all containing a common DNA insert; all bound calmodulin in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. The complete coding sequence was recovered and sequenced. The predicted protein sequence show greater than 50% identity to the A subunit of vertebrate protein phosphatase 2B. The gene was designated CMP1 and shown to reside on chromosome IV. Disruption or over-expression of CMP1 have no obvious phenotype; yeast appears to contain one or more CMP1-related genes. The protein product of the CMP1 gene is elevated by alpha-factor treatment, suggesting an involvement of protein phosphatase 2B in the mating response.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Characterization of TPM1 disrupted yeast cells indicates an involvement of tropomyosin in directed vesicular transport.

Disruption of the yeast tropomyosin gene TPM1 results in the apparent loss of actin cables from the cytoskeleton (Liu, H., and A. Bretscher. 1989. Cell. 57:233-242). Here we show that TPM1 disrupted cells grow slowly, show heterogeneity in cell size, have delocalized deposition of chitin, and mate poorly because of defects in both shmooing and cell fusion. The transit time of alpha-factor induced a-agglutinin secretion to the cell surface is longer than in isogenic wild-type strains, and some of the protein is mislocalized. Many of the TPM1-deleted cells contain abundant vesicles, similar in morphology to late secretory vesicles, but without an abnormal accumulation of intermediates in the delivery of either carboxypeptidase Y to the vacuole or invertase to the cell surface. Combinations of the TPM1 disruption with sec13 or sec18 mutations, which affect early steps in the secretory pathway, block vesicle accumulation, while combinations with sec1, sec4 or sec6 mutations, which affect a late step in the secretory pathway, have no effect on the vesicle accumulation. The phenotype of the TPM1 disrupted cells is very similar to that of a conditional mutation in the MYO2 gene, which encodes a myosin-like protein (Johnston, G. C., J. A. Prendergast, and R. A. Singer. 1991. J. Cell Biol. 113:539-551). The myo2-66 conditional mutation shows synthetic lethality with the TPM1 disruption, indicating that the MYO2 and TPM1 gene products may be involved in the same, or parallel function. We conclude that tropomyosin, and by inference actin cables, may facilitate directed vesicular transport of components to the correct location on the cell surface.

Chitin↗
PubMed1992

Construction of a GAL1-regulated yeast cDNA expression library and its application to the identification of genes whose overexpression causes lethality in yeast.

We have constructed a galactose-inducible expression library by cloning yeast cDNAs unidirectionally under control of the GAL1 promoter in a centromeric shuttle vector. Eleven independent libraries were made each with an average size of about 1 x 10(6) clones, about 50 times larger than the reported mRNA population in a yeast cell. From this library, LEU2 and HIS3 cDNAs were recovered at a frequency of about 1 in 10(4) and in 12 out of 13 cases these were expressed in a galactose-dependent manner. Sequence analysis of leu2 and his3 complementing cDNAs indicates that they contain all the coding sequence and much of the 5' untranslated region. To test the utility of the library for the identification of genes whose overexpression confers a specific phenotype, we screened 25,000 yeast transformants for lethality on galactose. Among 15 clones that showed galactose inducible lethality were cDNAs encoding structural proteins, including ACT1 (actin), TUB2 (beta-tubulin) and ABP1 (actin-binding protein 1), and genes in signal transduction pathways, including TPK1 (a cAMP-dependent protein kinase) and GLC7 (type 1 protein phosphatase). cDNAs overexpressing NHPB (nonhistone protein B) and NSR1 (nuclear sequence recognition protein) were also found to be lethal. Among these, ACT1 was isolated four times, and NSR1 three times. The useful features of this library for cDNA cloning in yeast by complementation, and for the identification of genes whose over-expression confers specific phenotypes, are discussed.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1991

The secretion-stimulated 80K phosphoprotein of parietal cells is ezrin, and has properties of a membrane cytoskeletal linker in the induced apical microvilli.

Stimulation of gastric acid secretion in parietal cells involves the translocation of the proton pump (H,K-ATPase) from cytoplasmic tubulovesicles to the apical membrane to form long, F-actin-containing, microvilli. Following secretion, the pump is endocytosed back into tubulovesicles. The parietal cell therefore offers a system for the study of regulated membrane recycling, with temporally separated endocytic and exocytic steps. During cAMP-mediated stimulation, an 80 kDa peripheral membrane protein becomes phosphorylated on serine residues. This protein is a major component, together with actin and the pump, of the isolated apical membrane from stimulated cells, but not the resting tubulovesicular membrane. Here we show that the gastric 80 kDa phosphoprotein is closely related or identical to ezrin, a protein whose phosphorylation on serine and tyrosine residues was recently implicated in the induction by growth factors of cell surface structures on cultured cells [Bretscher, A. (1989) J. Cell Biol., 108, 921-930]. Light and electron microscopy reveal that ezrin is associated with the actin filaments of the microvilli of stimulated cells, but not with the filaments in the terminal web. In addition, a significant amount of ezrin is present in the basolateral membrane infoldings of both resting and stimulated cells. Extraction studies show that ezrin is a cytoskeletal protein in unstimulated and stimulated cells, and its association with the cytoskeleton is more stable in stimulated cells. These studies indicate that ezrin is a membrane cytoskeletal linker that may play a key role in the control of the assembly of secretory apical microvilli in parietal cells and ultimately in the regulation of acid secretion. Taken together with the earlier studies, we suggest that ezrin might be a general substrate for kinases involved in the regulation of actin-containing cell surface structures.

Actins↗